Horse Ranch
Horses in Central and East Asian warfare are inextricably linked with the strategic and tactical evolution of armed conflict. A warrior on horseback or horse-drawn chariot changed the balance of power between civilizations. When people with horses clashed with those without, horses provided a huge advantage. When both sides had horses, battles turned on the strength and strategy of their mounted horsemen or cavalry. Military tactics were refined in terms of the use of horses. The domestication of the horse Although the actual origin remains clouded in mystery, the domestication of the horse is thought to have first occurred on the Eurasian Steppe, around 4.000 BC. This was then followed by the domestication of the sheep and cow. All species of horses that exist today are thought to be either domesticated breeds or domesticated breeds that have reverted back to being wild. Subspecies of wild horses are: * The Tarpan or Eurasian Wild Horse, once native to Europe and western Asia. The Tarpan became effectively extinct in the late 19th century and the last specimen died in captivity in a Ukraine zoo in 1909 * Przewalski's horse, native to Central Asia and the Gobi Desert * The Domestic horse N. M. Przhevalskii, a Russian explorer at the end of 19th century, reported the discovery of true wild horses in Kyrgyz. This species, the so called "Mongolian wild horse" is thought to be the ancestor of all domesticated horses. Most wild horses today, such as the American Mustang, are actually feral horses descended from domesticated animals that escaped and adapted to life in the wild. In contrast, Przewalski's horse has never been domesticated and remains a wild animal and today is considered the only remaining truly wild horse in the world. In 1995, British and French explorers discovered a new population of horses in the Riwoche Valley of Tibet, unknown to the rest of the world, but apparently used by the local Khamba people. It was speculated that the Riwoche horse might be a relict population of wild horses, but testing did not reveal genetic differences with domesticated horses, which is in line with news reports indicating that they are used as pack and riding animals by the local villagers. The steppe region of northern central Eurasia has been known from ancient times for its horse breeding and horse-riding nomad peoples. There was a special breed of horses more than 2.000 years ago. They were called Nisaean (in ancient Persia), Akhal-Teke (in Turkmenistan), Ferghana or heavenly horses (in Chinese ancient history sources). It is believed to be the mount of the legendary Genghis Khan, also the Alexander’s famous horse Bucephalos was also of this breed. Though this breed has rarely been seen during the past eight or seven centuries in China, its glory and mystery remain. The steed is depicted in Chinese literature as "being able to gallop about 1.000 kilometers a day and another 800 km at night". These horses were so grand and superior that they caused a war. The historians called this war "the first war ever fought over horses". War of the Heavenly Horses It is said that Emperor Wudi became obsessed with stories from the west which told of a breed of horse like no other. The horses that were mentioned are the "blood-sweating horses" (Hanxue-ma 汗血馬). These magnificent animals, believed to have descended from heavenly horses, were said to come from the kingdom of the Dayuan (大宛), in an area located in the Ferghana Valley. Ferghana horses were famous for sweating blood. Scientists have not figured out what the red liquid is but some people believe it is just a sheer illusion. This breed of horse was very important to the Chinese military and were of capital importance to fight the nomad Xiongnu. Desiring the horses, Wudi sent envoys with "a thousand pieces of gold and a golden horse" to the Dayuan, but the king was unwilling to give any animals to the Han. Underestimating the chances of the faraway chinese attacking Dayuan, the king killed the envoys, taking the treasures which they had brought. That move resulted in a war that China won. In response, the Emperor sent out Li Guangli, the brother of his favorite concubine, he was given 6.000 horsemen and 20.000 infantry soldiers. Li's army had to cross the Taklamakan Desert and his supplies soon ran out. After a gruesome march of over 1.000 miles he finally arrived to the country of Dayuan, but what remained of his army was exhausted and starving. Li lost many men along the way in petty fights with local rulers. After a severe defeat at a place called Yucheng, Li concluded that he was not strong enough to take the enemy capital and therefore returned to Dunhuang about 102 BC. Emperor Wudi responded by giving Li Guangli a much larger army along with a huge number of oxen, donkeys and camels to carry supplies. With this force he had no difficulty reaching Khujand (called Ershi by the Chinese), the Dayuan capital. He lost half his army during the march, but after a 40 day siege the Chinese had broken through the outer wall and cut off the water supply. The nobles of Ershi killed their king and sent his head to Li Guangli, offering the Chinese all the horses they wanted. Li accepted the offer, appointed one of the nobles to be the new king and withdrew with a tribute of 3.000 horses. On his return journey all the petty states accepted Chinese sovereignty. He reached the Jade Gate of the chinese capital about 100 BC with 10.000 men and 1.000 horses. Thus Wudi came to possess the famed horses. His great joy at this was expressed in the poem "Ode of the Heavenly Horse". Up until this time, the Han had been given horses as tribute from the Wusun people. However, with the arrival of these more splendid horses from Dayuan, the Wusun horses came to be known as "the western-end horses" (Xiji-ma 西極馬) while the name "heavenly horses" came to be reserved for the horses of Dayuan people from Ferghana Valley. With careful training and masterful training, these horses soon became the favoured breed in China. At that time in China, the more horses you owned the higher your status. The terracotta statues of horses found in tombs have flaring nostrils, pricked ears, powerful legs and strong necks. Probably these statues were the first to depict the Ferghana horse in Chinese art. The expedition to obtain the blood-sweating horses of Dayuan was under the greatest effort and the crushing victory over Dayuan resulted in the other nations of Central Asia to recognize Han power. After the defeat of the Dayuan the nations of Loulan (Kroraina 楼蘭), Anxi (安息) and Kangju (康居) began to send tribute to the Han and this tribute included many kinds of new goods from Central Asia. The "Accounts of the Western Area (Xiyu zhuan)" appearing in the Hanshu describes this state of affairs as follows: "Reports of the heavenly horses and of grapes necessitated the opening of the roads to Dayuan and Anxi. From this, rare treasures such as brilliant jewels, turtle shell, rhinoceros horn and kingfisher feathers filled the palace. The four splendid horses: Pusao (蒲梢), Longwen (竜文), Yumu (魚目) and the blood-sweating horses are kept within the palace gates; and elephants, lions, fierce dogs, ostriches kept in the outer gardens. Rare items of foreign lands arrive from all four directions." Sources * Van, Cleaf K. "Przewalski's Horses". Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co, 2006 * Creel, Herlee Glessner. "The Role of the Horse in Chinese History". Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982 * Peers, Chris. "Imperial Chinese Armies: 200 BC - 589 AD". Osprey Publishing, 1995 * Kawamata, Masanori. "Ancient Asia of the Sprinting Horses" vol. 11. Tokyo, 1994